Allen's double-double sparks Nicholls women

Published: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 9:00 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 10:02 a.m.

When the Louisiana-Lafayette Rajin' Cajuns decided to turn their attention to Nicholls guard K.K. Babin, it was up to her Colonel teammates to take matters into their hands.

Senior Alisha Allen did just that.

While Babin still finished with 12 points, it was Allen who powered her way to 28 points in the paint and nabbed 10 rebounds as the Colonels defeated the Cajuns 71-62 Monday night in Stopher Gymnasium.

With the win the Colonels improved their record to 4-1, the best start for any woman's basketball team in school history.

"I wanted to play hard and show that I am capable of playing to the best of my ability," Allen said. "We're excited, but we know we still have things to work on. We want to keep this momentum and be the best team that we can be."

Nicholls coach DoBee Plaisance credited Allen for taking the initiative to step up when her team needed it the most.

"She took control of that, she saw how the tempo of the game was going and took control," Plaisance said. "I am so proud of her and the way our team played in general. We played hard. I give K.K. credit for the way she handled the pressure."

The Colonels opened the game on an 11-2 run capped off by four points from Allen before the Cajuns used a 5-0 run to close the gap to 11-7 following a lay-up by Ashley Benjamin (14 points).

Four more Allen points triggered a 7-0 run and 18-7 Colonels lead with 10:44 to play in the first half before a 15-4 swing eventually tied the game at 22 behind Benjamin's eight points.

The Cajuns (2-2) took the lead 24-22, and again 26-24 before a 12-2 Colonel run, sparked by a Jenny Nash 3-pointer and three points from Kishaun Williams, gave the Colonels a 36-28 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Colonels appeared to take control at the 16:07 mark when an Emani White (11 points) 3-pointer put Nicholls in the lead 48-33 but the Cajuns refused to go away.

A 10-0 Cajun run was lead by five points from Keke Veal (19 points), and Louisiana-Lafayette pulled within five, 48-43 with 14:10 to play.

However, the Colonels added a 5-0 run of their own following a free throw by Babin to increase their lead to 53-43.

The Cajuns got it down to six (53-47) at the 12:09 mark but failed to pull any closer the rest of the way as Nicholls out-scored the Cajuns 18-15 the rest of the way en route to the nine point win.

The win over the Cajuns also marked another feat for the Colonels. It was the 12th win in the last 16 home games for Plaisance's team.

Defending the home court is something the Colonels take pride in, Plaisance said.

"We certainly want to own it here," she said. "We made history tonight but this team is so humble that none of that fazes them. We just take it one game at a time and this is going to be a special year for that group and this is a very special group."

Nicholls out-rebounded the Cajuns 41-35 and had more second chance points (17-10) and points in the paint (32-30) to assist in the win.

<p>When the Louisiana-Lafayette Rajin' Cajuns decided to turn their attention to Nicholls guard K.K. Babin, it was up to her Colonel teammates to take matters into their hands.</p><p>Senior Alisha Allen did just that.</p><p>While Babin still finished with 12 points, it was Allen who powered her way to 28 points in the paint and nabbed 10 rebounds as the Colonels defeated the Cajuns 71-62 Monday night in Stopher Gymnasium.</p><p>With the win the Colonels improved their record to 4-1, the best start for any woman's basketball team in school history.</p><p>"I wanted to play hard and show that I am capable of playing to the best of my ability," Allen said. "We're excited, but we know we still have things to work on. We want to keep this momentum and be the best team that we can be."</p><p>Nicholls coach DoBee Plaisance credited Allen for taking the initiative to step up when her team needed it the most.</p><p>"She took control of that, she saw how the tempo of the game was going and took control," Plaisance said. "I am so proud of her and the way our team played in general. We played hard. I give K.K. credit for the way she handled the pressure."</p><p>The Colonels opened the game on an 11-2 run capped off by four points from Allen before the Cajuns used a 5-0 run to close the gap to 11-7 following a lay-up by Ashley Benjamin (14 points).</p><p>Four more Allen points triggered a 7-0 run and 18-7 Colonels lead with 10:44 to play in the first half before a 15-4 swing eventually tied the game at 22 behind Benjamin's eight points.</p><p>The Cajuns (2-2) took the lead 24-22, and again 26-24 before a 12-2 Colonel run, sparked by a Jenny Nash 3-pointer and three points from Kishaun Williams, gave the Colonels a 36-28 halftime lead.</p><p>In the second half, the Colonels appeared to take control at the 16:07 mark when an Emani White (11 points) 3-pointer put Nicholls in the lead 48-33 but the Cajuns refused to go away.</p><p>A 10-0 Cajun run was lead by five points from Keke Veal (19 points), and Louisiana-Lafayette pulled within five, 48-43 with 14:10 to play.</p><p>However, the Colonels added a 5-0 run of their own following a free throw by Babin to increase their lead to 53-43.</p><p>The Cajuns got it down to six (53-47) at the 12:09 mark but failed to pull any closer the rest of the way as Nicholls out-scored the Cajuns 18-15 the rest of the way en route to the nine point win.</p><p>The win over the Cajuns also marked another feat for the Colonels. It was the 12th win in the last 16 home games for Plaisance's team.</p><p>Defending the home court is something the Colonels take pride in, Plaisance said.</p><p>"We certainly want to own it here," she said. "We made history tonight but this team is so humble that none of that fazes them. We just take it one game at a time and this is going to be a special year for that group and this is a very special group."</p><p>Nicholls out-rebounded the Cajuns 41-35 and had more second chance points (17-10) and points in the paint (32-30) to assist in the win.</p>